atmosphere

Where does the word "atmosphere" come from? It comes from Greek atmós + sphaîra, and was adopted directly into English (1630s).

Atmosphere’s story begins in Greek: atmós + sphaîra meant “vapour + sphere.” 'vapour' + 'ball', the parts the word was later built from. It reached English by 1630s as atmosphere. Via Modern Latin atmosphaera (1600s), first used of vapour around heavenly bodies; Evangelista Torricelli's mercury barometer of 1643 showed that the air has weight. Today, atmosphere means the envelope of gases around the earth; the mood of a place.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient atmós + sphaîra "vapour + sphere", 'vapour' + 'ball', the parts the word was later built from.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1630s atmosphere "air around the earth; mood", via Modern Latin atmosphaera (1600s), first used of vapour around heavenly bodies; Evangelista Torricelli's mercury barometer of 1643 showed that the air has weight.